Font Size:
She pushed the door open. Inside, it was pitch dark, carrying a faint musty scent of age and decay.
Peering in cautiously, Lin Wanjun whispered a tentative incantation, “Aladdin’s lamp, bring me light.” The very next moment, the space lit up as bright as day.
Even the casual command she made up on the spot to turn on the light could be recognized by the space—how intelligent was this thing?
Stepping over the threshold, everywhere she looked was steeped in a heavy sense of time, as if she’d been transported straight onto a battlefield shrouded in smoke and fire.
Within the vast, boundless space, tent after tent shaped like straw hats stood neatly in formation before her eyes like rows of sentinels on guard duty.
Based on Lin Wanjun’s many years of reading experience as a seasoned bookworm, someone had clearly used this space before!
Combined with the fact that this ring was a family heirloom passed down through generations of the Song family…
The previous owner of the ring must have been a member of the Song family—and must have lived through a time of relentless war and gunfire.
Who could it have been? Was it Song Zhanjin’s still-living grandparents? Or perhaps his great-grandfather and great-grandmother who had perished just before the dawn?
With these questions in mind, Lin Wanjun casually entered several tents. Most of them were empty, with only a few scraps of paper and scattered debris left behind.
Glancing around, she bent down and picked up a tomato lying forgotten behind a door. She gave it a firm squeeze—and to her surprise, sweet, fresh juice burst out!
If she wasn’t mistaken, this tomato had been preserved in the space for decades—yet it was still plump and vibrant red, its skin dewy and tender, and the stem was a fresh, bright green, as if it had just been picked.
Delighted, Lin Wanjun realized that this space possessed a preservation function so powerful it would stump even the team from Approaching Science.
She stepped into another tent. Inside was a single cot, its surface mottled with bloodstains that had yet to fully dry. At the foot of the bed lay a neatly folded German gray military uniform, patched and faded from countless washes.
Above the bed, a piece of rice paper had been pasted to the wall. On it, eight bold, vigorous characters declared: “If I live, the nation perishes; if I die, the nation endures.” The words struck Lin Wanjun like thunder, sending waves crashing across the lake of her heart.
She didn’t know who the previous owner was, nor what they had gone through—but she was certain that person must have been a hero who had braved fire and blood to protect their homeland.
With a reverent respect she could not fully put into words, Lin Wanjun exited the space.
On her way past the supply and marketing cooperative, Lin Wanjun bought two boxes of peach crisps. When no one was around, she quietly activated the space with a thought and silently whispered, “Store.” The next second, the peach crisps disappeared before her eyes.
She focused her thoughts and peered into the space—sure enough, there were the two boxes of peach crisps sitting inside.
Overjoyed, she couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh yeah!”
But the moment she returned to the military compound, Lin Wanjun’s smile vanished.
Bad news travels fast, while good news never leaves the house—her outburst at the military camp had already spread, and someone was currently tattling on her to her mother-in-law.
Before she even stepped through the door, she heard Li Yuetang’s incredulous voice coming from inside.
“Old Li must’ve mistaken someone else for her! How could my daughter-in-law possibly do something so disgraceful and shameless?”
“Tsk, would I dare lie to you? If you don’t believe me, call Commissar Song and ask him yourself! Or call Zhanjin back and check if he’s got scratch marks all over him!”
A stranger’s voice, deliberately lowered, chimed in: “Sister-in-law, your daughter-in-law isn’t exactly a gentle soul. There are all sorts of rumors about her out there. There’s something I’m not sure if I should say or not…”
Li Yuetang sounded displeased. “If you’re not sure whether you should say it, then don’t. Speaking ill of my daughter-in-law right in front of me? That’s beyond disrespectful.”
The other woman was stunned silent, stammering and unable to speak for a while.
Lin Wanjun, deeply moved, pinched her own thigh hard enough to draw tears, then pushed open the door and dashed straight into Li Yuetang’s arms.
“Mother!”
Without another word, she burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably, catching Li Yuetang completely off guard.
“Junjun, what’s wrong? Who bullied you?”
Tears streamed down Lin Wanjun’s face like rain on a pear blossom. Though pitiful in appearance, her words were clear and coherent.
“Song Zhanjin is seeing someone else!”
Under Li Yuetang’s shocked gaze, Lin Wanjun gave a highly dramatized account of what had happened outside the antique shop—especially emphasizing the part where Dong Yingying had called Song Zhanjin ‘husband.’
“If I had known earlier that Zhanjin and Miss Dong were so deeply in love, nothing in the world could have made me marry into this family and break them apart!”
“My newlywed husband has become another woman’s man! And right in front of me, they were exchanging flirtatious glances and whispering sweet nothings. Mother, can you even imagine how much that hurts?”
“Wuwuwu—I don’t want to live anymore! Don’t stop me! Let me die!”
Lin Wanjun was already breathtakingly beautiful, and now, crying as if her very soul were about to leave her body, she looked even more fragile and despairing—making Li Yuetang’s heart ache unbearably.
“My good child! Don’t do anything foolish, please! Mother knows how wronged you feel. Anyone in your place would be devastated!”
Li Yuetang wrapped her arms around Lin Wanjun, doing everything she could to comfort her. “Don’t worry. I’ll stand up for you—Mother will definitely give you an explanation. Just wait here. I’m going to call your Father right now and have him drag that little bastard home!”
The gossiping military wife, who had been stunned speechless, finally managed to pick her jaw up off the floor. She now looked at Lin Wanjun with a gaze full of sympathy.
If that was really the case… then Lin Wanjun had gone far too easy on him earlier. She should’ve just kicked him straight in the crotch!
That sickly girl from the Dong family—what a shameless hussy! Flirting with someone else’s husband right in front of the legal wife? Disgusting!
The gossip-hungry military wife couldn’t wait to spread the news, practically tripping over herself to get out the door. Meanwhile, under Li Yuetang’s comforting embrace, Lin Wanjun’s sobs gradually subsided.
She still leaned into Li Yuetang’s arms, pitiful and delicate like a little white lotus.
“Mother, did I cause trouble? Even if he was the one in the wrong, I shouldn’t have made a scene in front of so many people. I didn’t just embarrass him—I brought shame to you and Father too.”
“What if he gets angry and really divorces me? I’m so scared!”
“Mother, I’ve only just married into the family, but even now, I know you’re the kindest person in the world to me. You’re a hundred, a thousand times better than my own mother. I can’t bear to be apart from you!”
She whimpered and sniffled, calling out “Mother” with every other breath, sweet-talking Li Yuetang into a daze.
After marrying into the Song family for decades, Li Yuetang’s husband was one of those tight-lipped types, and her son wasn’t any better—both were like gourd jars with their mouths sealed shut, never a single sweet word between them.
She had expected her daughter-in-law to be just as the rumors claimed—shameless and wild. Who would have thought she was actually such an honest, good-hearted child? And now this child was calling her “Mother”… how could she not protect her?
“Cause trouble? What trouble? Don’t you worry—not even if the sky comes crashing down. You have me to hold it up for you!”
“Don’t you worry—as long as I’m alive, no one will dare drive you out of this house!”
“Song Zhanjin wants a divorce? Fine, let him divorce you. But when he does, he’s leaving with nothing but the clothes on his back. You’re this mother’s good daughter—I’ll find you someone even better!”
. . .
Just as those words left her mouth, Song Zhanjin stepped through the door—only to hear his own mother say them loud and clear.
The corner of his mouth twitched uncontrollably. He stood frozen at the doorway, stunned into stillness like a block of wood.
A split second later, his father, Song Mingcheng, launched a flying kick—like something out of a kung fu movie—and sent him crashing into the living room.
“Get in there, you brat!”
Lin Wanjun had just stopped crying. But the moment she saw Song Zhanjin return, she covered her face and threw herself back into Li Yuetang’s arms, letting out a fresh round of pitiful sobs.
“Mother, maybe I should just agree to the divorce. I… I’m willing to step aside for Miss Dong’s sake!”
Those words were like gasoline on an already blazing fire. Furious to begin with, Li Yuetang now erupted completely.
“What nonsense are you saying? You’re the properly wedded daughter-in-law of our Song family, joined through formal betrothal—who dares tell you to leave? You sit right here and watch how your mother gets justice for you!”
Li Yuetang stood up and began rolling up her sleeves.
With impeccable timing, Song Mingcheng slipped into the kitchen and returned with a rolling pin, presenting it with both hands in a show of utmost devotion.
“Dear, using your hands will hurt too much—this’ll do the job better!”
Watching his bootlicker of a father grovel so shamelessly, Song Zhanjin could only stare at the ceiling in speechless despair.
Yes, yes, you two are soulmates, and I’m just an unfortunate accident…
The next second, his dear mother charged at him, brandishing the rolling pin like a general leading the charge into battle. Song Zhanjin—who never flinched even on the front lines—let out a yelp and leapt to his feet, scrambling frantically around the house.
Someone save me, save me, save me…!
Would You like for us to continue Translating? Comment down bellow. 🙂
🚀 Like what you’re reading? Help us keep going by donating on Ko-fi!
👉 Every bit of support counts: Click here to donate!